D4Daisy Books

High quality textile art and inspiration books. www.d4daisy.com @d4daisybooks

[d4daisybooks-blog]

Silk paper with embossing powder and soluble paper insets. If you want to see how to make these, look for Maggie’s Grey embossing powder video on Workshop on the Web’s Facebook page.

[d4daisybooks-blog]

Detail of embossing powder set into water soluble paper. If you want to see how to make these, look for Maggie Grey’s embossing powder video on Workshop on the Web’s Facebook page.

[d4daisybooks-blog]

Sian Martin whose work appears in the Approaches to Stitch book gives us a free drawing class from the www.d4daisy.com site. Go to the site and click on the Approaches book. Then click on on-line classes button below the book. Click again to select Approaches and you will find the free class.

[d4daisybooks-blog]

Sian Martin converts her drawings using wire. From the Approaches to Stitch book www.d4daisy.com

[d4daisybooks-blog]

We are very excited at d4daisy books because we are going to merge with the wonderful Workshop on the Web www.workshopontheweb.com. This is a brief example of one of their online workshops, written by Isobel Moore, who is a great textiles artist. She works in mixed media using paper, buttons, snippets of fabric and machine stitching.

[d4daisybooks-blog]

First she prepares the surface by layering her papers and painting them to provide a colourful base.

[d4daisybooks-blog]

Then she finds suitable patterns from her sketch book and uses the shapes as a template for the applied fabric and stitch that follow.

[d4daisybooks-blog]

You can see the way the design is built up on the base, with sweeping lines of fabric and stitch translating the circular patterns of the design. If this is your kind of thing, do have a look at www.workshopontheweb.com where you will find a Taster issue with many workshops.

[d4daisybooks-blog]

Great wrist bands can be made using water soluble film. Just draw a rectangle on heavy film and stitch diagonal lines of straight stitch. Metalic thread is good. Keep the lines close together and then stitch lines across the top and the bottom, as shown . Trim the edges, but don’t cut too much away. These edges will curl to make a rippling fringe. Now hand stitch into the centre area, couching wrapped cords or braids or beads – whatever takes your fancy.

[d4daisybooks-blog]

Pin the finished piece to a piece of polystyrene (pizza packing is useful). Wash the film away, but try to leave a very small amount to stiffen the thread. Note the curly fringe. This idea comes from the d4daisy book Dissolvable Delights by Maggie Grey.

[d4daisybooks-blog]

Beryl Taylor made a wonderful piece of work for her section of the d4daisy book ‘Approaches to Stitch’.

[d4daisybooks-blog]

In this spread of the book she demonstrates the use of various mediums on some unusual fabrics.

[d4daisybooks-blog]

This is the result when used on fabrics from organza to baby wipes.

[d4daisybooks-blog]

Here is the finished piece.

[d4daisybooks-blog]

A detail showing the surface interest.

[d4daisybooks-blog]

Collagraphs can be made without a press if you use a pasta machine on the lasagne setting. This technique is from d4daisy books Cut, Shape, Stitch book (www.d4daisy.com). Make a plate by glueing texture – lace, yarns etc. to mountboard. Coat with shellac and allow to dry.

[d4daisybooks-blog]

Paint sparingly with oils or acrylic paints and wipe off most of the paint, leaving it in the deeper areas of the plate. Fix the pasta machine to the front of the table. Place a piece of felt behind the painted plate and roll through.